In my last post I made a tongue in cheek remark about giving myself a facelift with Picmonkey, even if I could afford plastic surgery I deffo would not go down that route, no siree. I have seen enough dodgy looking middle-aged faces coming through Gatwick to know that I'd rather look old, than strange.
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We've all seen those ageing celebs with stretched faces and wrinkly hands and necks... of course each to their own and all that but I do wonder who they think they are fooling?
Anyways this got me thinking about how we attempt to hold back the years in less invasive ways... ie the beauty regime.
Not sure I have a regime as such, I'm quite low maintenance when it comes to beauty products, but here are a few that I swear by at the moment.
My fine thin hair has been highlighted for at least ten years and this together with heat damage made it feel quite straw-like at the ends before I discovered these Argan Oil products. The hair mask leaves it feeling soft and silky and if I don't have time for the mask, the leave-in oil treatment does the same job. I always stock up on Avon products when they are on offer, (which is fairly often) as I've been using this brand for donkeys years and never been disappointed with the quality.
Next up is another Avon product, recently discovered - Avon Magix, a face primer. I'd never used one of these before, it's a bit like Polyfiller - fills in all the cracks before you apply your foundation. I've found by using this, foundation doesn't sit in and emphasize my lines so much. Also a bonus was the price, about £6, a few quid cheaper than others I've seen in the shops.
It has crossed my mind once or twice that I might be considered 'too old' for false eyelashes, but what the heck, if they're good enough for Mary Berry they're good enough for me! For special occasions I'll buy a pair of natural looking lashes(not those hairy spider ones)for around a fiver. They are tricky little buggers to apply but I found this helpful tutorial and with practise it does get easier.
Over the years I've removed my make up with all sorts. As a teenager I started off with Anne French cleansing milk (remember that?) and continued with various, always inexpensive, lotions and potions. Now my skin is drier it can take something richer and I have found this Boots cold cream to be an excellent cleanser. If I've had a skinful and I can't be arsed to do this, I use a wash off cleanser instead. Eye make-up is always removed with baby oil, been using it for decades and never found anything to touch it.
I'd heard about this next product for years but never tried it as it's a bit on the pricey side. However last year at xmas my company gave us all a £25 voucher to spend in Duty Free, so I treated myself. I love the ever so slightly medicated fragrance and it's a great moisturiser for hands, I also use it as a lip balm. The only drawback is it's quite sticky so don't apply it just before dressing or going out. Will definitely be buying this one again though.
Lastly another moisturiser. I've recently been using Olive Oil and have to give the credit for this to Janet who mentioned it in her blog post here. For several reasons I really like this, it's very cost effective, it moisturises my face really well and I can use it on my body too, it absorbs quite quickly and unless you use a palm full doesn't leave you with a shiny mush. The odour is only noticeable for a couple of minutes and for me this isn't an issue. I challenge you to try it, my oil of choice is Lidl's finest and at £1.99 for half a litre it's a no brainer.
So, these are my current beauty staples, I'd love to hear about yours.